Portland
Blog: This Week in Portland July 27 - August 3 2013

Another beautiful, sunny Portland weekend has descended upon us and with that, another edition of our all-local Portland blog. We spent the last weekend at Lost Lake, a favorite weekend retreat. They don't take camping (or any) reservations, so the drive there is fraught with excitement, wonder and some anxiety: will we get a spot? are they booked? I get nervous butterflies in my stomach just thinking about how it feels to make the long, winding --and stunning!-- drive up through the Hood River and Odell area, watching all the cars heading there or coming back. With each car, I wonder: did you just leave? Oh, wait - are *you* heading there, too? There are only maybe a 150 camping spots and we've had many an occasion to pull in and find the car ahead of us took the very last spot. It's worth the gamble of driving two hours and being turned away. Yes, we love it that much.

The first time we ever went there, we had no idea what awaited us. We could not have imagined this incredible crystal clear lake whose only purpose in the world so it seems is to provide a mirror to the majestic Mt Hood. I could not grow tired of looking at this iconic combination of the two: a serene and pure mountain lake and a towering volcano roaring up behind the trees. The image will take your breath away.

The folks who work at Lost Lake are some of the happiest people in the world. No wonder. We've had many an occasion where a kind host on a golf cart cruised us around the grounds looking for "overflow" camping, making it their mission to find us a little block of earth to call our own for the next few days. An icy beer from the cooler is even trade.

Educate, Explore, Enjoy

You know, I brag and brag on this city. I'm so excited to be here every single day that sometimes my exuberance for it just bursts forth and I wax rhapsodic to anyone who will stay in the room to listen to it. I ooh and ahh over the scenery (especially on those cool overcast autumn days when the colors seem to radiate and the air carries the scent of chimney smoke), I actually grin to myself when all alone on a Forest Park path or taking a ride on my bike through the southeast neighborhoods (Who does that? Who are the people who actually smile to themselves, by themselves? Happy people!), and I'm never at a loss to find something interesting or awesome regardless of which neighborhoods I'm visiting or traveling through.

So pardon me when I state here that sometimes I'm perplexed by, and feel badly for, many of the native-born citizens of Portland (and quite a number of Oregonians from elsewhere, actually), because they either seem so blasé about where they live, or suffer gross misunderstandings based on information obtained from hearsay.

Co-worker: “Nah, I don't go into NoPo much. They hate white people up there, y'know?” (What?)

Mover: “You'll wanna put a kick plate on this back door. People around here'll just bust it down if they want your stuff”. (Well aren't you just the goodwill ambassador!)

Customer at the service desk: “Gawd, downtown is such a [expletive]. Nothin' but traffic and bums.” (The [expletive] you say?)

I've spoken with people who've been here their entire lives, who have never stood on the grass at Tom McCall Waterfront Park or watched river traffic from the Eastbank Esplanade, who have only the vaguest of notions as to where Forest Park is, let alone walked a path in that glorious place, who have never sat and people-watched at Pioneer Courthouse Square, who haven't once listened to the hum and clatter of a Max train from inside one, who have never taken their children to see tadpoles in pools at Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge, who have never walked a step or rolled a tire on the Springwater. That's too many “who have nevers” for one paragraph. I'm sorry that it's actually possible.

These days I'm helping PortlandNeighborhood out by taking some photos and writing updates for the 'Neighborhoods' section of the website. Aside from a few technical difficulties (i.e. my camera is old and I suck using it), it's been both fun and educational. Fun because I have an excuse to revisit old haunts around town, and educational because I'm learning about parts of the city I hadn't until now paid much attention to. I suppose we all do it to some extent; we have our neighborhoods and perhaps those immediately adjacent, and that general area becomes our prime sphere of influence and knowledge base. But in a city such as Portland, to not go farther afield is to do oneself a disservice.

I'll bet that, although I've so far only written up a handful of these neighborhood profiles so far, I've visited and actually observed more of them than quite a few natives I've met. And that's a shame.

So follow the example! You don't have to write about it (but please do, because I'd love to read your experiences!) but you can pass on your knowledge and your love of your place in the world, share it with those new to town and still goggle-eyed at the possibilities.

And always ask the newbies where they've been. You may learn something.

The Portland Videos of
the Week- Portland Farmers Markets

The Portland
Photo of the Week

The
Portland Photo of the Week is by Laura who snaps a shot of what must've been the Bluesfest down on the riverfront seeing all those boats. It's very uncommon to see so much boat "traffic" on the Willamette River.

Our Portland Photo of the Week wins a $20 gift certificate to the world famous: Powell's
Bookstore.

Enter your orginal images and win a $20 treat to a local Portland business of our choice!

July 27, 2013 from 1pm to 4pm – North Mississippi AveJoin us for a three-hour tour through Portland’s newest culinary hot spot. We will explore N Mississippi Avenue, a vibrant and eclectic neighborhood full of great food and lots of personality. Sample…Organized by Forktown Food Tours | Type: tour

July 27, 2013 all day – "Division Clinton"SE Portland's Division Clinton Street Fair 2013 http://www.divisionclinton.com/ The morning parade along Division and Clinton Streets will kick off a full day of live music, family fun, children’s e…Organized by Division Clinton | Type: division clinton street fair

June 15, 2013 at 12pm to December 21, 2013 at 1pm –Portland Center StageOn the first and third Saturdays of each month, the historic Gerding Theater at the Armory hosts FREE, behind-the-scenes tours. Get the full story of how the Armory Annex transformed from an 1891 mil…

June 30, 2013 to September 8, 2013 – OMSIhttp://mummies.omsi.edu/ Mummies of the World is the largest exhibition of mummies and related artifacts ever assembled. This compelling collection, presented with reverence and dignity, includes anc…Organized by Lorri E. | Type: omsi

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